Coffee Board to promote coffee among Defence forces

The board will also actively pursue efforts to boost consumption in the non-traditional regions in north India, particularly those having long winter seasons.P K Krishnakumar | ET Bureau | May 18, 2017, 13:30 IST

M S Boje Gowda, who took over as the new chairman of the Coffee Board told ET that he would place the suggestion at the board meeting to be held in the first week of June.

"The consumption will increase if we give the consumers pure coffee and place a control over the amount of chicory that is added to coffee," he said, adding that often the chicory, a coffee subsititute, in coffee available in India comes to 50 to 60%.

The board will also actively pursue efforts to boost consumption in the non-traditional regions in north India, particularly those having long winter seasons, according to him.

The consumption has to improve, he said, to realise the target of doubling the coffee production in the country to 6 lakh tonnes. India’s per capita coffee consumption is just 200 gms compared with 5 to 10 kgs in other countries.

To mitigate the damage from drought following failure of monsoon, he suggested a higher subsidy of 80% for coffee irrigation, similar to other crops. There has been a massive shift from arabica variety to disease-resistant robusta in the last few years due a rampant white stem borer pest menace.

" The government should play more active role in the sustaining arabica cultivation by helping to improve cultivation practices and irrigation facilities. I hope the scientists will find a solution to pest problem," he said.